The Draconia Family

Malleus’ Mother: Meleanor Draconia

About Meleanor

Meleanor Draconia (changed to “Maleanor” on EN) was the princess of Briarland, the only child of Queen Maleficia, the Lady of Castle Wildrose and, as commander of the royal guard, a key figure in Briarland’s defense. 

In Lilia’s dream of Book 7 Silver is surprised that she does not reside in Castle Blackscale with her mother, and Lilia explains that Castle Wildrose is a citadel that stands at the center of an expanse of wetlands to the south: “an object of ire for many a ruffian coming from the Coral Sea or Howling Canyon.”

Lilia explains, “Briarland’s ruling family, the Draconias, are descended from the dragons at the top of the nocturnal fae hierarchy. She’s also unruly, quick to start fights, selfish, and irascible…not to mention incredibly spiteful.” Lilia says that Meleanor was “Briarland’s most menacing figure.”

Baul is shocked by Lilia’s phrasing(“That seems rather harsh to say about our princess!”) and Lilia apologizes, but then adds, “that was putting it lightly, though.”

Sebek says that while his grandfather (outside of the dream) has shared “many tales of heroics revolving around the Draconia family and Lilia,” he has never spoken to Sebek about Meleanor or how she and her husband—Malleus’ parents—died.

Sebek says he has read many books to gain a greater understanding of Briar Valley and Malleus, but “hardly any of them touched upon such topics.”

During Lilia’s dream of Book 7 we learn that Meleanor would sneak away as a child (“and caused a huge uproar),” once broke the queen’s staff while playing with it, and once “ruined the engagement talks with a dragon who’d traveled here from halfway across the world.”

Lilia says, “You caught no end of grief from Her Majesty and the old geezers in the senate. Every single time!”

Meleanor’s Power

Malleus says that both his grandmother and mother “were said to have possessed incredible power,” and Lilia says Meleanor was “so powerful, the rest of us combined wouldn’t stand a chance against her. If we take too long, she’ll call lightning bolts down on our heads or burn us to a crisp with her fire breath.And for the record, I’m not joking. She’d do it in a heartbeat.”

We see this happen on screen later in Lilia’s dream where Lilia and his troops reunite with Meleanor at Castle Wildrose and she welcomes them with insults and lighting bolts.

Noticing the humans of the group, after they introduce themselves Meleanor magically forces them to their knees for speaking out of turn and making eye contact with her (“That is the height of disrespect. Kneel”), while Sebek struggles to breathe beneath her spell.

When Lilia happens upon fae children who tells him that they want to protect their family, friends, and Lady Meleanor, Lilia responds, “I don’t think she needs your protection…”

Meleanor also seems to summon and teleport via green flames, similar to Malleus. 

Lilia says that, while Meleanor is powerful, she is not invincible, but she still insists on sending the wounded troops away to confront the invading army on her own, as she “might inadvertently incinerate” her own guards.

When Meleanor appears before the invaders the Dawn Knight observes, “the weather is changing…”

During the battle and after what seems to be a violent shaking of the earth Sebek asks what is happening and Lilia responds that it is Lady Meleanor that is happening, with her magic blowing the Dawn Knight into an underground waterway beneath her castle.

A member of the invading army comments that they would have been roasted inside their armor by Meleanor’s flames if it had not been for the protection of wizards fighting on their side. While escaping from the battle, lightning strikes a tree in front of Grim and Silver says that Lady Meleanor “must be fighting hard” to keep the enemy engaged.

After the group reunites Sebek says that the weather is worsening to the point that he can barely keep his eyes open and Lilia responds that the land is resonating with Meleanor’s anger.

While the group flees to Castle Blackscale a bridge connecting to Mount Dread collapses and Lilia observes, “at least now the humans won’t be chasing us,” while an earthquake then causes a rockslide that destroys the path they took to Maleficia.

While both are likely results of the land “resonating with the dragon’s anger,” it is not confirmed if the increased protection provided to Castle Blackscale by the rockslide and collapsed bridge was coincidental or intentional: possibly Meleanor’s final efforts to protect her family and home from the invading force?

Meleanor and Raverne

Meleanor’s husband Raverne, the Dragoneye Duke, “played a key role in (Briarland’s) diplomatic missions.” Lilia explains, “He served as Lady Meleanor’s eyes. He was her problem solver…and her consort. He was a nobleman, and you wouldn’t find a finer envoy anywhere.”

Raverne was the leader of the first delegation that Meleanor sent to the invading forces to deliver a letter, leaving her and their egg behind. Lilia says, “He said he’d return swiftly. That was the last anyone saw of him.”

One of Lilia’s goals during his journey to the eastern citadel to deliver the letter that seems to have never reached the invading side is to “turn up a clue” that Lilia will be able to bring back to Meleanor concerning what may have happened to her husband.

Lilia says, “Those are the times we live in. It’s an all too common occurrence. But who knows? He could just turn up on the castle doorstep again. So l have to guard the princess and their egg with my life in the meantime. That was the promise I made.”

Lilia says that both Meleanor and her husband have given him “no end of extra work” since they were children.

Lilia says that “it’s speculated that (Raverne) had a clash with the Dawn Knight himself,” and Raverne is now presumed dead.

Meleanor and the Dawn Knight

Meleanor seems to have come close to meeting the Dawn Knight in person at least once before the confrontation of Lilia’s dream, with Lilia saying that he accompanied Henrick on a visit to Castle Wildrose. As Meleanor refused to speak with them it is possible that they did not meet.

Henrick says that his plot to invade Meleanor’s lands, kill her for her castle and magestone, and take her child as a trophy is inevitable, as both choices he offers during his negotiations “will end in anything but (their) victory, of course.”

Henrick’s plot seems to involve forcing the Dawn Knight’s participation through convincing him that Meleanor would never be willing to help them heal the knight’s future father-in-law’s illness, but it does not seem as though they ever asked for her help.

After describing his plan as one that leaves Meleanor with no options Henrick declares that it is actually Meleanor who has left them no choice but to attack her and the Dawn Knight seems to agree, saying during their battle that Meleanor has left him no choice but to fight.

Henrick sends his invading army and the Dawn Knight against Meleanor to “strike down the ruler of evil standing before us and deliver peace to all our lands.”

During the battle the troops exclaim, “After all our attacks, still she has the strength to fight?! Her fell magic envelops the skies, and her black thorns cut off all avenues of escape…this is truly the work of a mistress of evil!”

They declare that there can be no coexistence “with such a monster” and she must be killed. The Dawn Knight pauses to reflect on if maybe they could have actually coexisted with one another after all if they had learned more about each other, “But that’s not what I chose…nor what my people chose, either.”

The Dawn Knight says that he will not ask for Meleanor’s forgiveness, but he hopes he will be allowed to dream of a world where all “intelligent species” can laugh together.

He then summons guardian faeries for their aid in cutting her down and moves into her home, renamed from Castle Wildrose to Bladevale.

Meleanor and Henrick

Henrick Istvan is the leader of the Silver Owls, whom Lilia describes as “as greedy and crass as they come. He likes to stay holed up in their eastern stronghold. He barely ever comes out of it…”

Lilia reveals that Henrick went to Castle Wildrose at least once before the violence of his Book 7 dream with “a letter outlining a number of demands,” but as Meleanor refused to speak with him it is possible that they did not actually meet. (Sebek: “He dared to bring demands when his men are the ones repeatedly damaging Briarland?! The audacity!”)

Henrick, however, claims that he tried “many a time to negotiate with Briarland in good faith” and Meleanor “made a mockery” of their efforts. At the siege of Castle Wildrose Henrick declares, “even (their) vast patience has its limits” and the time for diplomacy has passed, demanding that Meleanor surrender her magestone and her home to the invading force.

Henrick says that unlike Meleanor they are not monsters, so she is free to choose between giving up her lands to the invaders or trying to defend herself in a duel with the Dawn Knight. 

(Ultimately, the battle is not one-on-one: the invading army supports the Dawn Knight during their battle, while Meleanor fights alone.)

Regularly referring to Meleanor as a “witch,” Henrick promises that they will end their siege as long as Meleanor fights honorably and wins, only to declare to the Dawn Knight that no matter what Meleanor chooses, victory will go to him.

Beyond taking Meleanor’s lands for himself, Henrick reveals additional motivation: he desires her magestone, the Princess Glow (EN: “the Magestic Ember”), and her child, so that he might have a trophy to to use as a mount.

After Henrick’s monologue Meleanor responds, “So a human was responsible for that terrible racket a few moments ago. I thought it was merely a very loud boar grunting. What an abhorrent sound.”

Meleanor appears alone before the invading force, and when Henrick asks if she shall be accepting the duel, she says no: “By what right do you expect me to abide by your arbitrary dictates? You intrude upon our land, despoil our forests and rivers…and now you have the gall to demand my castle and the Princess Glow? Arrogance has its limits…HUMAN.”

Meleanor declares that she shall be smiting “every greedy human” with her lightning, and Henrick is delighted: “It’s just as I surmised. She embraced her wrath and made the first move. She’s a wicked, temperamental witch!”

Meleanor and Lilia

During his dream of Book 7, a 300-year-old Lilia says that he has been “subjected to (Meleanor’s) vagaries for as long as (he) can remember,” he is certain that he will “be subject to her whims for the rest of (his) life,” and knows that, once her egg hatches, he is “going to be the one stuck babysitting the kid,” despite his dislike of children.

Lilia says that “back in the old days” Meleanor would sneak out of the castle and drag him into the woods with her. We hear more details about one of these outings, which involved Lilia offering Meleanor jerky after they—with Raverne—became lost and had to camp out overnight.

Lilia explains, “Raverne, Maleanor, and I were still children at the time. We’d barely begun learning flight magic…Raverne had this miserable look on his face. Even now I can’t forget it,” but Meleanor “was perfectly fine. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the new experience,” but couldn’t sleep, so Lilia “had to stay up until dawn chatting with her” despite being exhausted from hiking.

When they were found by the royal guard the next morning it was Lilia who took the blame for it, despite how the excursion had been Meleanor’s idea. (Lilia: “Nothing good comes of associating with her.”)

Baul is not impressed by Lilia being sent to the east citadel to deliver a letter instead of one of Briarland’s nobles, but Lilia says that are “a useless lot,” which is likely why Meleanor picked him, specifically, for the job.

Lilia says that his real worry is Castle Wildrose, but when Sebek insinuates that Lilia must also be worrying about Meleanor, Lilia laughs: “It’s not Her Highness I’m worried about. It’s the castle itself, and MY hide. The last thing I want is for the princess to destroy the whole castle in a fit of pique while I’m gone.”

Lilia says that his life would be much less difficult if Meleanor “were the kind of princess to sit quietly in her castle awaiting a prince on a white dragon.”

We learn that Lilia promised the missing Raverne that he will guard Meleanor and her egg with his life in Raverne’a absence, but Meleanor sends Lilia away when her castle is under siege, ordering him to hatch her egg in her and Raverne’s place.

Lilia insists this is impossible as he knows nothing of parental affection and has never loved anyone, which Meleanor disputes, saying that Lilia loved both her and Raverne.

Lilia’s love for Meleanor had possibly been insinuated slightly earlier, with Lilia talking about a time that he procured jerky for Meleanor that she refused to eat until Raverne summoned a cauldron and stewed it for her.

Lilia says, “And of course she fawned over Raverne all the while, making passive-aggressive remarks like, ‘You’re the only one I can depend on’…maybe that’s where the difference between him and me lies. And here I was the one to actually bring the food.”

Lilia references Meleanor’s pickiness again later on, telling an egg-Malleus that his mother “was extremely picky, you know. She made the kitchen staff’s lives miserable,” and he needn’t take after her.

When a fairy who has lost their family and fields to Briarland’s foreign invaders begs Lilia to punish them for it Lilia responds, “I wield my magearm for Lady Maleficia, the one who took me in…as well as Lady Meleanor. I can’t wield it just to make you feel better.”

When Lilia is injured rescuing Silver from a trap at the eastern citadel Baul is shocked, saying that it is to Meleanor that Lilia has sworn his life and loyalty. On their way back from the citadel to Castle Wildrose Lilia promises concerned water faeries that he will rescue the princess.

When they arrive to overhear Meleanor singing a lullaby Lilia responds, “Is this any time for singing? Has she any regard for the rest of us?”

When Lilia suggests that Meleanor retreat from Castle Wildrose Meleanor responds, “If you were anyone else, Lilia, I’d have turned you to cinders with a single breath!”

Well aware that the invading forces want to kill her so that they might take her home, her magestone and her child, Meleanor says, “The humans must yearn for utter destruction,” and that destruction they shall have by her lightning bolts of judgement.

Lilia asks, “Have I EVER been wrong when I tried to warn you not to do something?!” and Meleanor responds, “It’s been a long time indeed since you’ve spoken to me that way. Yet for all you begged me to heed you, you never once refused me aid. Heh heh heh.”

When Lilia continues to refuse to leave her Meleanor tosses her egg to him and strikes him repeatedly with lightning, asking if he is willing to stay behind if it means forfeiting both his own life and that of her child.

Lilia asks what he is to do if he loses both her and Raverne and Meleanor responds that she would never lose to invaders, no matter how many of them there might be, but if she does fail to return then Lilia is to hatch Malleus. She then forcibly drags Lilia and his remaining troops out of the castle with enchanted briars.

Lilia tries to entrust egg-Malleus to Baul and return to Meleanor (“Please, just let me go. If I don’t go now, then what was it all even for…?!) but Baul refuses, saying that all royal guardsmen must obey draconian royal commands and Meleanor’s lighting would strike clean through him were he to return.

Lilia declares that the will simply quit the royal guard and he is “no stranger to getting struck by lightning,” but Baul insists that they trust the princess: “She’s so powerful, the rest of us combined pose no threat to her. Are you not the very one who said that?”

On their way to Castle Blackscale they happen upon royal guardsmen dispatched by Maleficia, whom Lilia sends to aid Meleanor. When they arrive and Lilia seems to collapse Baul calls for medical treatment, but Lilia insists that he is going back to Meleanor.

Before he can, however, Meleanor’s magic fades. The senate praise her for refusing to back down (“Such nobility! Truly, she is the pride of all nocturnal fae”) but Lilia disagrees, saying that pride and nobility are worth nothing once you are dead. Lilia resigns from his post in the royal guard and the senate take Malleus away from him.

Baul intervenes, saying it is was an order from Meleanor that Lilia is to hatch the egg (“Not even the old and storied senate has the power to contravene a royal command from a Draconia!”). When he asks if Lilia intends to “cast aside a royal command from Lady Meleanor herself?!” Lilia responds, “…l’m not a royal guardsman anymore. I’m no longer subject to her commands.”

Lilia’s despair attracts darkness, which he seems to interpret at the afterlife, saying, “Meleanor… Raverne… Is this where you are? Take me with you… Please… Let me join you on the other side…”

Years later Lilia concedes to the request from Maleficia and Baul to try and find a way to hatch Malleus, saying, “if you return to the stars before you even hatch, your parents will tear me apart when my time comes.”

Meleanor and the War

Lilia’s dream of Book 7 starts with Lilia having been tasked by Meleanor to deliver a letter to an eastern stronghold established by foreign invaders to Briarland. Baul explains that the letter is an ultimatum, warning the invaders to “cease their ill-mannered conduct in (their) lands.” 

The fae troops discover an excavator during their journey that Baul describes as an “iron golem,” and Lilia sends a messenger back to Meleanor so that she might been notified of the machine as soon as possible.

After arriving at the abandoned eastern stronghold Lilia’s troops realize that the invaders must have been intentionally waiting to act until Lilia was absent from Castle Wildrose, receiving a report that Meleanor is being besieged in their absence.

Lilia insists on being teleported despite his injuries but it is too dangerous, with Baul saying, “Let us have faith in the royal guardsmen you’ve trained, as well as Lady Meleanor.”

The fae troops return to Meleanor surrounded by giant excavators, catapults, enemy mages and troops from other lands.

Baul suspects they must all be coveting Briarland’s resources and Lilia wonders if they are hired  mercenaries, but Henrick claims that they are neighboring countries who “all live in fear that their villages could be razed by dragonfire at any moment.”

Lilia devises a plan to evacuate Meleanor and her egg from the besieged castle (“Though I imagine Lady Meleanor will have no end of complaints about how dark and damp it is…”).

He worries that getting her to agree to a retreat in the first place “will be a battle in and of itself,” and he is proven correct: the royal guards are greeted upon their arrival by Meleanor sending lightning bolts at them all.

Meleanor sends the troops away and Baul observes, “Black clouds and briars are enveloping the Verdurous Moor,” which Silver says is the same thing they saw when Malleus overblotted.

Sebek asks if Meleanor is overblotting as well, but might not have been ever confirmed.

The storm that Meleanor seemed to summon during her battle dissipates with her death, with the senate praising her as the pride of all nocturnal fae.

Meleanor and Malleus

One of the earliest references to Meleanor possibly came during the Firelit Sky event (2021), where Malleus thinks on the land’s forebears toiling in hopes of giving their descendants a happy, peaceful life: “I wonder if it was the same for my grandmother and Lilia…and for my mother and father.”

During the turmoil of Lilia’s dream he is, at first, convinced that Meleanor will be “sitting quietly” at home for the next few years, as “even Her Highness won’t take any silly risks until her precious egg hatches,” and “there’s no safer place in our land than in Lady Meleanor’s arms.”

Meleanor’s introduction involves her telling Lilia and his troops that they ruined the “nice nap” she and egg-Malleus had been intending to enjoy together.

Lilia asks how she can be so sure that her egg will hatch into a male heir and Meleanor responds, “The child in this egg is a prince. There can be no question; as his mother, I’m certain of it. He will undoubtedly take after Raverne and grow into a man of great beauty.”

In his efforts to convince Meleanor to flee Castle Wildrose rather than do battle with Briarland’s invaders Lilia asks, “What would become of your child if the unspeakable were to befall his mother?,” and Meleanor responds, “Being his mother is the very reason I choose to venture forth. Once I accept their duel, the humans’ attention will be focused upon me. You and yours are to take the egg and escape in the meantime.”

Meleanor tosses her egg to Lilia and declares, “Malleus shall be the star of fortune who shines down upon all the fae of Briarland…and likewise shall he be the star of misfortune that humans will fear.”

After Meleanor’s death and during his hundreds of years of searching for a way to save the unborn Malleus’ life, Lilia says, “I’ll bet you anything that Meleanor’s watching us from up above and cackling at our expense.”

When the unhatched Malleus’ life is in danger Lilia calls out to Meleanor and Raverne, saying, “Are you two gonna do nothing but twiddle your thumbs and watch from up there?!…I’m not gonna let Malleus join you just yet! Malleus will see it. He’ll see the world that you two never got to look upon…”

When a half-awakened, half-dreaming Lilia sees an overblotted Malleus for the first time in his dream he responds, “That voice… Raverne? How are you back…? No, wait. You have Maleanor’s horns…” and Malleus offers to give Lilia a new dream, where both Meleanor and Raverne are alive.

Our introduction to Meleanor involves a lullaby that she is singing to egg-Malleus, which we later see Lilia also sing to egg-Malleus, and to Silver. Malleus seems to remember the lullaby that both his mother and Lilia sung to him as an egg, though at first he guesses that it was sung to him by a nursemaid.

Malleus’ introduction to Meleanor also involves the same lullaby: a memory of the throne room of Castle Wildrose conjured by Lilia’s unique magic. Malleus does not recognize his mother upon seeing her, referring to her as a woman in a black dress whom he has seen paintings of, but it seems he was never told who she was.

Malleus thanks the memory of his mother for her protection, and for not taking Lilia away. Meleanor seems to react to him and Lilia responds, “you ARE a memory of this castle conjured by my signature spell, right? You’re not a ghost, are you?!,” and the apparition smiles and disappears.

Malleus’ Father: Raverne

coming soon

Malleus’ Grandmother: Maleficia

coming soon